Package Tour vs DIY Travel

Are you more the type to enjoy being in control while travelling or do you prefer to let others make the arrangements for you? Frankly, as someone who’s experienced both approaches, I can see the pros and cons of group tours and DIY travel. That said, which one is better for you – a package tour to Sri Lanka or DIY travel?

I’m wildly independent, as anyone close to me can attest. That works when I’m the one in control of a situation, but when it comes to plans others make…

Man, was that a learning curve!

So imagine my consternation when my first trip overseas was a packaged tour.

I quickly got over that when I realised just how many things my travel agents took care of on my behalf.

I honestly would have broken down and cried at the first sign of Slight Inconvenience.

As it was, I just had to get over my Must-Do-Things-Myself-to-Get-Things-Done-Right mindset and trust the professionals to do their job. Even within the Regimented Schedule of a package tour, there WERE things I could do alone. So my Independent Loner self could compromise.

Of course, there’s a freedom to independent travelling that you can’t get with a packaged tour. Being able to move at your own pace is a blessing on a morning you wake up feeling lazy!

That said, how do you know if a package tour to Sri Lanka or a DIY travel itinerary is the best fit for you?

Package tour to Sri Lanka – who fits the category best?

Tour groups are not everyone’s cup of tea. But sometimes you just don’t have the time, energy or the necessary information to plan out a trip – especially if it’s overseas. If your trip takes more than a couple of days – and c’mon, if you are going overseas, it has to be longer than that! – there’s a lot to organise.

Package tours are an answer to your dilemma. Your travel agents know all the best places in Sri Lanka and can arrange for hotel stays, and travel details and provide you with an itinerary that covers places you want to visit.

A package tour to Sri Lanka is also a great option for single travellers. Travelling alone is fun. You learn a lot about yourself and have a lot of room to grow when you are responsible for yourself in a foreign country. But it can also get lonely. A package tour can give you a nice balance between independence and company, as I can personally confirm. I could and did make my own decisions, but whenever I wanted to share my excitement with someone, there was always someone in the group ready to vibe with me. Of course, you have to put some energy into making a connection with your group, but it more than pays off.

DIY travel itinerary and who can get away with it

Independent travelling is, of course, my preferred method. No one to answer to, no one for whom I have to adjust my plans, no one to compromise with on where to go…

But, a DIY travel itinerary is also not for everyone. For instance, if you are a first time-traveller, you can do it – provided that you do a crazy amount of research and prepare well. You can’t just chuck your stuff into a bag, grab a flight and wing it. Not in a foreign country, where you don’t

1. know the language
2. the locals
3. the unspoken ‘dos and don’ts’ of etiquette

However, if you’ve been to Sri Lanka before, travelling alone is a great option for a subsequent visit.

It’s also a perfect way to travel for those who enjoy getting to know new people. If you like chatting with strangers, or adventuring alone, organising a trip by yourself gives you greater freedom to do what you like without having to answer to anyone else.

Pros of a package tour to Sri Lanka

It can be affordable

Travel agents often work with hotels, airlines, and other companies involved in the tourism industry. So they get discounts from these partner companies. As a result, travel agents can then offer a far more affordable tour package to their clients.

When you look up the prices of a tour package to Sri Lanka, it might seem like a lot at first glance. But if you were to organise the trip yourself and travel alone, you might end up with a total budget that exceeds what the travel agent quotes for a package.

You get to see more in a shorter period

Package tours get a bad rep for fitting so much into a day. But on the other hand, if you are in a new place for a limited amount of time, don’t you want to see as much as you can?

That’s what a package tour does. The tour agents know which attractions are the best, how to get from A to B quickly and which attractions you can afford to skip queuing for.

Of course, if you still wish to see that attraction you didn’t queue up for, you can do so the next time. When you DIY your travel plans to Sri Lanka!

You can travel without worrying about logistics

There’re a lot of details involved with travelling. You have to figure out the dates, how to get to where you are going, where to stay, how to travel around…

And listen, I LOVE the planning part of a trip. The minute you ask me on a trip, you can bet I’d be planning everything on my end. But as much as planning gives me life, sometimes it’s nice to let someone else figure it out. Especially on an international tour, when I’m not familiar with the language, laws, customs, etc.

Package tours are perfect in this respect because the tour agents handle all the nitty gritty. Sure, you get options on what to do during the day and can select from a range of activities or attractions to visit. But once you make that decision, the tour guides arrange everything else, letting you relax as you should on a vacation.

It's a good chance to learn something new

Most attractions in Sri Lanka will have a single plaque or two detailing their importance. And if you are lucky, the English text will be sufficient for you to get an idea of why the place is an attraction.

But a tour guide, who is familiar with the attraction can give you a more thorough account of it and its history. So if you like collecting new knowledge about the places you visit, go for a package tour of Sri Lanka. You CAN learn much of the dry facts via a simple Google search, but the tiny interesting facts tour guides provide give life to a long-abandoned ruin.

Pros of independent travel plans

Making travel plans independently is a great confidence booster – if you pull it off successfully. Of course, there’s a lot of research you have to do – like looking into airlines and flight times, arranging safe but comfortable accommodations, and so on. It’s not something you can do last minute, without something going wrong down the road.

Be sure to begin your planning well before your projected departure time and make sure to have backups in case some of your plans fall through. And always make sure that you have your safety and well-being in mind when you arrange the tour.

That said, despite the extra mile you have to go to plan it out, DIY travelling can be rewarding.

If "Touristy" is not for you

There’s nothing wrong with touristy people… except for the tourists.

Let’s face it, some major attractions are an annoyance to visit. Not because the place is not worth it, but dealing with the milling crowds, the long queues, the Selfie-hordes and all can be a lot. Especially if a visit to the top attractions of a country is not your main priority.

Sri Lanka has a lot of utterly amazing attractions that get included in many package tours to the island. But more destinations don’t make it into a tour guide’s itinerary. You can visit these as-yet-overlooked attractions instead.

So if crowds and hitting the must-visits are not your thing, then a DIY travel plan where you can make your itinerary on the fly is your best choice.

When the journey matters MORE than the destination

Half the fun of travelling independently is that you have to figure everything out yourself. Might sound strange, but it’s true. Nothing can beat the buzz you get when you figure out how to get from one place to another in a new country. Bonus points if you don’t speak the language.

Not that the language barrier is much of a problem in Sri Lanka. Most people can speak English – if not fluently, at least well enough to be understandable.

But, if you care about the journey more than reaching a place, then DIY-ing your travel is perfect for you. You’ll spend a lot of time staring at Google maps, looking up train/bus schedules, asking for directions and getting lost at least once. But hey, as long as you have fun while you scratch your head trying to figure out where on earth you are, all part of the experience, right?

If you hate schedules (that you aren't in charge of)

Marching to the beat of someone else’s drum is… not fun.

If you want to spend more time exploring somewhere and the person in charge of your tour wants to check off the next attraction on their list, you have no choice but to go. Or you risk being left behind.

When you plan your tour by yourself, you can be more flexible about the timing. You may think you want to spend more time in one city initially. But then once you are there, if you feel like moving on, you can do that easily. OR if you want to spend hours at a time sketching a landscape, hey, who’s going to tell you no? I mean, the police can, if sketching is not allowed for some convoluted reason, but, you know what I mean.

If you don't like travelling in groups

If you don’t want to travel with a large group, then travel independently instead. Large groups, or even small groups, are fine. But, my word, is it frustrating to be stuck in a group when one or more members of the party don’t have good time management. Or, you know, any.

Of course, you can still make friends and enjoy the company of other travellers. You meet a lot of strangers on the road – some you pass by with a quick smile, and others are more willing to chat. These unlikely strangers can even turn into travelling companions (assuming you are SURE of their non-serial-killer-ness).

Leaning more towards tour packages?

Join our Sri Lankan Beach Escape, unwind with a A Week in the Tropics, or extend your Cultural Triangle Luxury Tour or Sri Lanka Hill Country & Tea Trails.